Programme Cooperation Agreement 2014: Final Report for the Period 01 January 2014 to 01 March 2015

SIGNIFICANT OUTCOME

MC

Widespread interest in the Blue Carbon project

The Abu Dhabi Blue Carbon Demonstration Project attracted international attention including from countries soliciting GRID-Arendal for information and possible assistance in replicating the approach. The Environment Agency – Abu Dhabi (EAD) has expressed high regard for the work: “The Blue Carbon ecosystems are an extremely important part and parcel of the cultural identity of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, and indeed the UAE. The Blue Carbon project demonstrated the power of data collaboration in the field of the environment, and its use in decision-making, policy making, as well as urban planning. It is extremely critical to understand what and where our natural capital is, and ensure that not only do we protect it, but that we also capitalise on it.” – H.E. Razan Khalifa Al Mubarak , Secretary General, EAD “The Abu Dhabi Global Environmental Data Initiative (AGEDI), supported by the Environment Agency – Abu Dhabi (EAD) has launched Phase II of its ‘Blue Carbon’ Project, expanding the project to a national level in an effort to link local natural coastal ecosystem management with climate change mitigation. This Project has evolved from its first phase, the Abu Dhabi Blue Carbon Demonstration Project, which was completed in 2013 which not only enhanced local capacity to better manage Blue Carbon ecosystems, but also has provided exemplary lessons learned for regional and international replication and up-scaling.” The project contributes to the GEF/UNEP Blue Forests Project as one of its featured small-scale interventions, which includes other country sites and project work in Madagascar, Ecuador, Indonesia, Kenya, Mozambique and Central America: “GEF is honoured and pleased with the collaboration with UAE/AGEDI in the global Blue Forests project. Indeed, AGEDI is a crucial partner and is already providing cross support and knowledge management to developing countries that are benefitting from the project, such as Indonesia and Madagascar,” – Nicole Glineur , Sr. Environmental Specialist for the GEF (All three comments posted 24 November 2014 on http://ameinfo.com/finance-and-economy/archive/ abu-dhabi-expands-ongoing-blue-carbon-work-emirate- national-level) AED and AGEDI have started to replicate blue carbon research activities throughout the UAE:

5F+ Blue Carbon Initiative – additional work funded from other (non-MFA) sources

GRID-Arendal participated in discussions with Norsk Institutt for Vannforskning (NIVA), 44 Institute of Marine Research (IMR) 45 and a number of Norwegian NGOs, regarding the creation of a Norwegian working group for advancing blue carbon. This Norwegian Blue Forests Network (NBFN) was officially launched in November 2014 and is comprised of three founding members: GRID-Arendal, NIVA and IMR. The NBFN will focus on strengthening and sharing national competence on ‘blue forest’ habitats both domestically and internationally. GRID-Arendal is the Executing Agency for the GEF/ UNEP Blue Forests Project. The project was formally launched in November 2014 and will be granted USD 4.5 million from the GEF Trust Fund. Implementation will run until December 2018. The focus of the project work during the inception period since June, was on setting up all project processes. 46 The Project Inception Workshop and the 1st Project Steering CommitteeMeeting were held inAbuDhabi inNovember, in conjunction with the Oceans and Blue Carbon Meeting of the Eye on Earth Secretariat. A project brochure was prepared for the December UNFCCC COP20 held in Lima, Peru. By the end of 2014, four partners had signed their contracts and three others were ready to sign. The other five partners are addressing internal matters within their respective institutions. 5G Blue Forests GEF

43. http://bluecarbonportal.org 44. http://www.niva.no 45. http://www.imr.no/en

46. Including partner contracts, revising and adjusting project documentation, formation of the Project Coordination Unit, creating the project website, and circulating a press release

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